MAY 2, 2012

DFT’s Beauty and the Beast May 18 – 27

The Brainy and Beautiful Belle yearns to escape her provincial life ... and her brute of a suitor, Gaston. However, Belle gets more adventure than she wanted when she becomes a captive in the Beast's enchanted castle! Dancing flatware, menacing wolves, and singing furniture fill the stage with thrills in this beloved fairy tale about very different people finding strength in one another and learning how to love.

Corporate and foundation support is down nearly 80 percent this year. If $15,000 is raised another $15,000 will be matched by some very generous DFT supporters. Help them make their match. DONATE today at DesertFoothillsTheater.com.

Chef Thomas experience has a far range including Executive Chef at the popular Fox Sports Grill in Scottsdale and Palm Brook Country Club in Sun City. Thomas started his training as a child in family owned restaurants and later attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. With over 16 years of experience as a chef in this area with notable restaurants such as Mastro’s Steak House, Chef Thomas brings exceptional leadership skills and his own creative style of cooking and menu development to Venues. He is well known throughout the Valley as a talented chef and respected leader in the kitchen.

Venues Café owner, Catherine Marr, says, “We are already seeing the positive effects of having Thomas in our kitchen. We are confident that our diners will be as excited by Chef Thomas’s culinary talents as we are.”

Chef Thomas has enhanced the Venues menu with some flavorful new starter dishes such as Yellow Fin Ahi Tuna, seared with white and black sesame and served with Asian slaw, wasabi cream and soy glaze and his Crab Cakes made with Jumbo Lump Crab on a bed of fresh spinach and served with chipotle aioli. Main entrée additions include Sea Bass which is pan seared and topped with a mango chutney and Chicken Piccata in a creamy white wine lemon butter sauce with capers and basil served over linguine. New lunch additions include the Chef’s Patty Melt, 8 ounces of prime beef, served with sautéed onion, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing grilled on marble rye. The menu is complimented with two to three specials every evening to help keep the menu fresh and promise something for everyone at the Café.

For reservations and more information call 480-595-9909.

Venues Café, 34 Easy Street in Carefree, is open 7 days a week and offers an upscale American Bistro menu that pairs beautifully with their wine selections. The casual dining atmosphere features the rugged sophistication of wood, stone, brick and copper finishes; offering guests the choice of dining at the bar, by the fireplace or on the patio in the charming Western town of Carefree, AZ. Additionally, Venues Café offers Sunday brunch, live events and happy hours.

MAY 2, 2012

Sonoran Desert Chorale auditions for 2012/13 season

PHOENIX – The Sonoran Desert Chorale invites area singers to audition for its 2012/13 season. Auditions will be held at 7 p.m. on May 17 at First United Methodist Church, 15 E. 1st Ave, Mesa.

Singers from all voice parts are encouraged to audition for the acclaimed Chorus. The Sonoran Desert Chorale's season runs from October through May with concerts held in Mesa at the First United Methodist Church and Paradise Valley at Valley Presbyterian Church.